Is Neel Kashkari California GOP’s next great hope?

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Neel Kashkari’s handlers talk up their man as the GOP’s next great hope. An Indian American son of immigrants, he can attract nonwhite voters. His Libertarian leanings should appeal to young voters. And it’s not as if the GOP has a deep bench from which to draw.

Kashkari has some big strikes against him. Fewer than 30 percent of California voters register as Republicans. As the Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci reported today, Kashkari has a spotty voting record. That’s just soooooo Meg Whitman. Kashkari admits he voted for Barack Obama in 2008, which is likely to hurt him in the top-two primary. And his biggest claim to fame is that he ran TARP. In the end, TARP did not cost federal taxpayers money, but it’s hardly popular. “We wanted to let all the banks fail,” Kashkari told an audience as Sacramento State as he announced his candidacy, because the banks deserved it. But both Democrats and Republicans put aside their anger to do what’s right.

So how did the announcement go? Let’s just say Kashkari is no Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Not necessarily a bad thing.) He gave a good speech, but not a great one. He won applause bashing Jerry Brown’s High Speed Rail plan as a “crazy train.”